Nakashima advances to meet Shelton in all-American National Bank Open final

Brandon Nakashima had never reached an ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal before this week.

The 28th-seeded American advanced to the National Bank Open men's singles final Wednesday, rolling to a 7-6 (3), 6-4 victory over rising star and crowd favourite Rafael Jodar in the semifinals.

"Going into the tournament, I knew I was playing at a really high level, so I knew that I could get a go on a deep run here," Nakashima said. "Obviously wasn't thinking about the final or anything.

"I'm super happy right now. Everything that I've done to get to this moment, all the hard work and everything, just so happy that it's all paying off, and can't wait for tomorrow."

Nakashima will face defending champion Ben Shelton in an all-American final on Thursday.

The fifth-seeded Shelton needed only 84 minutes to breeze past fellow American Learner Tien, 6-2, 6-3 on Wednesday.

Nakashima dictated rallies throughout his match, particularly on serve. The 25-year-old won 68 per cent of his first-service points while putting 85 per cent of his first serves in play on centre court at IGA Stadium.

The 19-year-old Jodar, seeded 20th, landed 59 per cent of his first serves and won just 51 per cent of his second-serve points against Nakashima's aggressive returns, losing the match in two hours two minutes.

The fiery Spaniard showed his frustration at times, smacking his racket against his head and yelling after errors.

"My serve and forehand were definitely the keys for today," Nakashima said. "I knew that I had to hit my forehand with a lot of pace, try to get him on the run because if he was doing that to me, I wouldn't be in a good position.

"I knew I had to be aggressive, try and come forward as much as possible, and luckily I was able to hit my serves when I needed to."

The loss ends a stellar run for Jodar, who was trying to become the youngest Canadian Open finalist since countryman Rafael Nadal in 2005.

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Jodar also reached the D.C. Open final last week and has rapidly climbed the ATP rankings in his first season on tour, posting a 30-13 record. He was No. 11 in the ATP's live rankings entering Wednesday's match after cracking the top 100 on March 30.